Conveyer loading mechanism



H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 2,853,177

Sept. 23, 1958 CONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June19, 1956 INVENTORS' HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK p 1958- H. E.ENGLESON ET AL 2,853,177

CONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM Filed June 19, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS'. HARR E ESON ELME v S 4EK Sept. 23, 1958 H. E. ENGLESON ET AL7 2,853,177 CONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 19,1956 INVENTORS" ENGLESON D. SRAMEK P 23, 1958 H. E. ENGLESON ET AL2,853,177

CONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM Filed June 19, 19-56 7 Sheets-Sheet 4lNV-ENTORS'.

HARRY E.ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK H. E. ENGLESON- ET AL 2,

CONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM Sept. 23, 1958 Filed June 19, 1956 7Sheets-Sheet 5 HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK BY MJJM M -44.

ATT'YS p 23, 1953. H. E. ENGLESON ET AL 2,853,177

CONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 19, 1956 ATT'YSmvsmons:

HARRY E ENGLESON ELMER D SRAMEK BY A g,

p 1958 H. E. ENGLESON ET AL 2,853,177

YCONVEYER LOADING MECHANISM Filed June 19, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. I9

INVENTORS:

HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK United States Patent CONVEYER LOADENGMECHANISM Harry E. Engleson, Chicago, and Elmer D. Sramek, -Cicero,Ill., assignors to F. B. Redirrgton Con, Beli- Wood Village, 11]., acorporation of Delaware Application June 19, 1956, Serial No. 592,433 13Claims. (Cl. 198-35) This machine relates to machines for packagingarticles of manufacture and, more particularly, to such machines havingconveyors with specially adapted pockets or buckets for holding andcarrying articles in a predetermined configuration to facilitate theinsertion of such articles into a package or carton.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved machineembodying a conveyer arrangement permitting articles to be loaded intobuckets thereon from both sides of the conveyer simultaneously. Anotherobject of this invention is to provide 'an improved arrangement forloading the buckets of a centrally positioned conveyer with articlesreceived from a plurality of belt conveyers, a pair of belts beingarranged on each side of the central conveyer and passing the articlesto positions wherein transfer members operating in synchronism with themovement of the central conveyer may transfer groups of predeterminednumbers of the articles from the side conveyers through one or more reststations and ultimately into the predetermined configuration in thebuckets of the central conveyer.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved means forloading the buckets on a continuously moving conveyer with articleswhich may be pushed from a rest station between a pair of guide railswhich move synchronously with the conveyer and thence on to the bucketsof the conveyer.

Another object is to provide an improved conveyer pocket or bucket forreceiving several layers of articles one on top of another, the bottomof the bucket being arranged to lower after each layer of articles hasbeen received and thereby to provide space for subsequent layers ofarticles.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangementfor separating and dividing the articles received continuously on amoving belt into predetermined groups to facilitate the transfer of thegroups from the moving belt through one or more rest stations and onto aconveyer bucket at a predetermined location or quadrant whereby eachgroup constitutes a part of a'predetermined general configuration ofarticles carried on'the bucket.

A more complete understanding of the present invention, its mode ofoperation and its advantages may be gathered from further reading ofthis specification, together with an inspection of the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a part of the packaging machineemploying the teachings of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a single bucket of the centrally locatedbucket conveyer, the individual parts of the bucket each being shown inperspective;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a bucket as viewed from below andillustrating the manner in which the bucket is attached to the conveyerchain and the manner in which a bottom support is mounted to movevertically in the body of the bucket;

'ice

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of Fig.1, but with parts broken away and other parts removed to show theunderlying pusher mechanism for transferring articles from the outerbelt conveyer to the bucket loading station;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view looking along theplane 5-5 of Fig. l and particularly illustrating a movable stopmechanism for engaging and holding the articles on the belt conveyers;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section looking along the plane 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal plan view of the portion of the packaging machinegenerally illustrated in perspective by Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section along the broken line 8--8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the working parts and themode of operation of the divider structure for separating and groupingarticles received on the belt conveyers;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section along the plane 1010 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a vertical section Fig. 7;

Fig. 12 is a vertical section Fig. 10;

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are vertical sections generally along the line 11-11of Fig. 7 but with only pertinent elements shown to illustrateprogressively the movement of groups of articles being transferred fromthe inside belt conveyer through two rest stations and ultimately to aposition or quadrant of the buckets of the bucket conveyer;

Figs. 16, 17 and 18 are vertical sections generally along the line 8-8of Fig. 7 but with only pertinent elements shown to illustrateprogressively the movement of groups of articles which are transferredfrom the outside belt conveyer through several stations and ultimatelyto a position on a bucket of the bucket conveyer; and

Fig. 19 is a plan view of the part of the packaging machine showngenerally in Figs. 1 and 7, but with only pertinent elements shown toillustrate the manner in which groups of articles are transferred fromthe several belt conveyeres through rest stations and ultimately intothe buckets of the central conveyer.

The machine of this invention is particularly adapted to packagemanufactured articles which are uniform in size and shape. For purposesof illustration, the drawings show a particular machine designed forpackaging rolls of candy or medicinal tablets that may be receivedeither as single rolls or in groups of rolls which may be wrapped in anysuitable material such as cellophane. This machine arranges the articlesinto three layers, each layer consisting of twelve articles arranged,with six articles side-by-side and with two articles end-to-end, andthirty-six such articles are therefore arranged for insertion into eachcarton. If the articles have been previously Wrapped, three to acellophane package, then twelve such packages will be inserted into acarton. The machine is further adaptable to handle some articles singlyand other articles in three packs such that the final product insertedinto a carton may be composed of both articles singly and three packs ofarticles.

along the plane 11--11 of along the plane 12-12 of General arrangementand made of operation As may be seen in Figs. 1, 7 and 19, the conveyerarrangement comprises generally a bucket conveyer 1 and belt conveyers 2and 3. Fig. 19 shows the arrangement of all of the conveyers but, sincethe structure of each side of the machine is substantially the same,Figs. 1 and 7 are broken away to show only a single side thereof.

The articles are conducted into the machine of this invention by thebelt conveyers 2 and 3 which may move somewhat faster than the operationof the subsequent transfer parts of the machine thereby causing thearticles 4 to bunch, one behind the other, against the stop members 5and 6 at the end of the belt conveyers 2 and 3, Fig. 5. The bunchedarticles are separated at spaced intervals by apparatus, to be describedlater, and thence groups of articles are moved transversely from thebelt conveyers by several pusher members each adapted to engage and pushagainst a predetermined or selected number of the articles 4. Thearticles 4 are transferred through several rest stations or positions ona fiat supporting table structure and ultimately are pushed onto thebuckets of the conveyer 1.

Fig. 19 shows the articles 4 initially on the belt conveyers 2 and 3.During normal operation of the machin the belt conveyers 2 and 3 will befilled with articles abutting against each other in a side-by-siderelation; and there will be no spaces between the groups of articles 4.However, for the sake of clarity, Fig. 19 shows only those articles 4 onthe belt conveyers 2 and 3 which are grouped at those positions wherethey will be transferred from the belts. Pusher members, to be describedlater, first move the articles 4 in groups from the outer belt conveyers3 to a station A positioned beneath the moving belt of the conveyer 2.In a second transfer operation, further pusher members move the articlesfrom the station A to a station B positioned between the belt conveyers2 and the central conveyer 1. Simultaneously, further groups of articlesare moved from the conveyer 2 to a station B beside the articles instation B. In a third transfer operation, the articles from stations Band B are both moved to a station C, wherein six of the articles (threefrom each belt conveyer) appear in a side-by-side configuration.

A plurality of guide rails 7 oscillate or reciprocate such that in aforward stroke in the reciprocation, the guide rails 7 become alined andmove in synchronism with the sides of the buckets 8 on the conveyer 1.Thus, the space or guideway between the rails 7 likewise reciprocatesand during an interval of time moves in alinement with each bucket 8.During this synchronous motion, further pusher members, to be describedlater, push against and transfer the combined group of six articles ontothe bucket 8 from each side of the conveyer. Similar bucket loadingapparatus is positioned on each side of the conveyer and, thus, eachbucket simultaneously receives a layer of twelve articles-six from eachside.

As is shown in Fig. 19, the bucket conveyer 1 moves past three loadingpoints I, II and Ill. Each bucket 8 of the conveyer is constructed witha bottom support member, to be described later, which is movablevertically with respect the buckets and which lowers to a new elevationafter the bucket moves past the loading points I and II. Thus, eachbucket passes the loading station I with the bottom support member in araised position to receive a first layer of articles. Thence, thebucket8 is carried by the conveyer 1 to the loading point III, while thebottom support member, together with the first layer of articles, islowered to a second level. At the loading station 11, a second layer ofarticles is transferred on to the bucket and thence the bucket movestoward the loading point III, while the bottom support member descendsto a third level whereby the first two layers of articles likewisedescend and provide space for a third layer of articles. The buckets 8receive a third layer of articles at loading point III and thencecontinue on the conveyer 1 to the right, as shown in Fig. 19. Therefore,a fully loaded bucket will contain thirty-six articles in three layerstwelve articles in each layer.

A stationary divider 9 is mounted over the bucket conveyer 1 and extendslongitudinally therewith, Figs. 1, 7, l and 19. The divider forms anabutting plate against which the articles 4 may be moved as they aretransferred onto the conveyer buckets 8. Thus, articles may be loadedfrom both sides of the bucket simultaneously and should the loadingoperation on one side be timed slightly ahead of that on the other sideof the bucket, there will be no tendency for the articles to move beyondtheir intended position and to jam the loading operation from the otherside of the bucket. As is shown in Fig. 19, the stationary divider 9extends along the conveyer at the loading points I, II and III andsubsequently the divider is terminated, since it is not needed after thethree layers of articles have been received in the bucket.

Bunching and grouping of the articles on the belt conveyers The articles4 move along each of the belt conveyers 2 and 3 at a rapid rate until aleading article engages and is stopped by a stop member and 6.Thenceforth, the succeeding articles 4 carried on the belt conveyers 2and 3 pile up or bunch tightly against the foremost article such thatthe stop members 5 and 6 serve to hold a long series of articles inside-by-side relationship upon the moving belt conveyers 2 and 3, Fig.5. The stop members 5 and 6 are slidably mounted in stationary bracketsand 11 and are rigidly attached to an end supporting arm 12, Fig. 5. Abell crank 13 is mounted to pivot about a point 14 and may be oscillatedby a push-pull link 15 pivotally connected to one arm thereof. As thepushpull link 15 oscillates, the bell crank 13 rocks and the oscillatingmotion is transmitted to the end supporting arm 12 by a pivotalconnection 16. Thus, the stop members 5 and 6 may be extended at thebeginning of an article transfer operation and may thence be retractedto loosen the bunched articles as dividing plates are lowered forseparating the articles 4. A stationary stop 17 will limit the amount inwhich the articles 4 are permitted to shift as the movable stop 5retracts to loosen the articles, Fig. 6.

As shown in Fig. 1, a series of three divider members 18, 19 and 2% arepositioned over the belt conveyer 2 and a second series of three dividermembers 21, 22 and 23 are positioned over the belt conveyer 3. At thebeginning of the transfer operation and with the articles bunched on theconveyers 2 and 3, the divider members 18 and 21 descend downwardly uponthe conveyers 2 and 3 and interpose between articles thereon at apredetermined distance or spaced relation from the stop members 5 and 6.The articles thenceforth being received on the belt conveyers 2 and 3are stopped and held behind the divider members 18 and 21. Following theoperation of the divider members 18 and 21, the divider members 19 and22 next descend and separate the bunched articles on the conveyers 2 and3; and thence the divider members 20 and 23 descend and separate thefinal group of bunched articles. As the divider members 18 through 20and 21 through 23 descend in succession, the stop members 5 and 6retract somewhat, thereby loosening the bunched articles and providingsuflieient space for the divider members to interpose between the groupsof articles.

The operation of the divider members and the drive means providedtherefor, may be understood with reference to Figs. 8 and 9. As shown inFig. 9, a cam 24 is rotatable with a drive shaft 25 and bears against acam roller 26 to rock an arm 27 about a fixed pivot point 28. A spring29 urges the rock arm 27 into engagement with the cam 24. A push-pulllink 30 is pivotally connected between the rock arm 27 and a bell crank31. A vertical link 32 connects the bell crank 31 to a pair of sup portbrackets 33 to which are attached the divider members 18 and 21. Thus,the oscillatory motion developed in the rock arm 27 by the cam 24 iscoupled to drive and oscillate the divider members 18 and '21. The otherpairs of divider members 19 and 22, and 20 and 23, may be driven by anarrangement similar to that shown in Fig. 9.

A principal function of the divider members is to hold series ofarticles bunched on the conveyer belts 2 and a 3 such that the articleswill not impinge upon those further articles immediately behind thedivider members. Thus, a transfer mechanism associated with each dividermember may move those articles from the conveyer which are immediatelybehind the divider member without interference from subsequent articleson the conveyer. The subsequent articles are held back by the dividermember and are prevented from impinging against those articles beingtransferred from the conveyer.

To permit groups of articles to be moved transversely from both of theconveyers 2 and 3 through rest stations toward the central conveyer 1,it is necessary that the belt conveyers 2 and 3 be at different levels.As shown in Fig. 1, the outer belt conveyer 3 passes across an incline34 and descends to a level below that of the inner belt conveyer 2. Asis shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the divider members 18 and 21 operatetogether from a comcon drive means, but are offset vertically, thedivider member 21 extending downwardly a greater distance than thedivider member 18, since it is associated with the conveyer 3 at a lowerlevel. a

As is shown in Fig. 9, the divider members 18 and 21 are also offsethorizontally in the direction longitudinal with the belt conveyers. Thisis necessary since groups of articles are transferred from the beltconveyers 2 and 3 at positions just subsequent to the dividers 18 and21, and that the groups of articles from the belt conveyers will move toside-by-side positions at rest stations B, B and at rest station C.Since the two groups of articles coming from different conveyers 2 and 3must be combined in station C, it is obvious that this combination maybe best accomplished if the articles are initially transferred throughstations which are somewhat offset horizontally, and therefore thedividers 18 and 21 are offset to provide an initial displacementlongitudinal of the conveyers.

Transfer of the articles from the belt conveyers As has been discussedin connection with Fig. 19, the articles 4 are transferred in groupsfrom the belt conveyers 2 and 3 through several stations and ultimatelyto the conveyer 1. Since the physical layout of the conveyers is suchthat articles from the outer conveyer 3 must move a greater distance tothe buckets of the conveyer 1 than do articles from the inner conveyer2, it will be appreciated that these articles (from the outer conveyer3) may more conveniently be transferred through a rest station A notused by the articles on the conveyer 2. Figs. 13, 14 and 15 illustrateprogressively the transfer operation in shifting articles from the innerconveyers 2 to the bucket conveyer 1. As shown in Fig. 13, a group ofarticles 4 initially rest on the belt conveyer 2. During the transferoperation and after the articles 4 have been separated by dividermembers, a transfer mechanism includes a pusher member 35 which is dimensioned to engage .a predetermined number of articles 4 as a group.The pusher member 35 moves transversely across the belt conveyer 2 to aposition indicated by dashed lines in Fig. 13. Simultaneously, a movablesupport plate 36 moves transversely from beneath the belt conveyer 2 andreceives the articles 4 thereon, as shown at the rest station E, Fig.14. The pusher member 35, together with the support plate 36, thenceretract to the initial position, as shown in Fig. 13, whereupon thearticles drop off of the movable support plate 36 and rest on a tablesupport 37, as shown at the rest station E, Fig. 13.

In the next transfer operation, the support plate 36 again movesforwardly to the position shown in Fig. 14 and the group of articles 4are engaged by the leading edge 38 of the support plate 36 and arepushed across the table support 37 to the rest station C. A brush 39 ispositioned over the support table 37 to resiliently engage and restrainthe articles 4 such that the movement of the plate 36 will not impartexcessive motion to the articles 4. Thus, the articles may be pushedinto the 6 rest station C without danger of overshooting thatreststation and thereby causing a possible jam or malalinement prior totransfer onto the buckets 8 of the conveyor 1. As a final step in thetransfer operations, another pusher member 40 having an articleover-riding flange 41 associated therewith moves forward engaging thearticles 4 and transferring them to a position on the bucket 8, asindicated in Fig. 15.

The operation of the transfer mechanism associated with the outer beltconveyers 3, likewise comprises a series of pusher members which movethe articles transversely from the belt conveyer and through a series ofstations. As shown in Fig. 16, a first pusher member 42 engages thepredetermined number of articles 4 in a group and moves themtransversely from the conveyer 3 v to a rest station A located on thetable support 37 below the inner belt conveyer 2. A second pusher member43 is positioned beneath the table support 37 and includes a firstpurality of fingers 44 which may extend upwardly through elongated slots45. The pusher member commences its operation by moving upwardly to aposition shown in Fig. 17, wherein the fingers 44 protrude through theslots 45 above the table support 3'7 and into a position for engagementwith the group of articles 4. The pusher member 43 thence movestransversely to the right, as is shown in Fig. 18, and the fingers 44push the articles 4 to the rest station B. As may be seen in Fig. 19,the rest station E is located on the table support 37 and positionedbeside the rest station B. After the pusher member 43 completes thestroke of operation, shown in Fig. 18, it descends to a lower positionretracting the fingers 44 below the table support 37 and thence moves tothe left to assume the initial position for a subsequent cycle, as shownin Fig. 16.

In the next subsequent cycle of the pusher member 43, a second set'offingers 46 protrudes through the slots 45 in a position to engage thearticles 4 resting in the station B, as is shown in Fig. 17. The pushermember 43 thence moves forwardly and the fingers 46 move the articles 4to the station C where the articles of both belt conveyers are combinedinto a single group. The final step in the transfer of the articles fromthe outer belt conveyer 3 to the bucket 8 of the bucket conveyer 1 isaccomplished by the pusher member 40 and the retaining flange 41 whichmove the articles to the bucket 3, as described above in connection withFig. 15.

Fig. 4 shows generally the structure of the transfer mechanism formoving the articles from the belt conveyers 2 and 3. The pusher members35 and 42 are suspended from above and are adapted to move transverselyacross the respective belt conveyers 2 and 3 behind the divider members19 and 22. The movable support plate 36 is positioned beneath the beltconveyer 2 and over the table support 37 such that articles pushed fromthe belt conveyer 2 by the pusher member 35 will initially drop to arest position on the support plate 36, and articles pushed from the beltconveyer 3 by the pusher member 42 will rest on the slotted portion ofthe table support 37 beneath the plate 36 and the belt conveyer 2. Theretraction of the plate 36 will cause the articles to drop to a reststation E between a pair of stationary guides 47. Thence, as the platemember 36 again moves forwardly, the articles will be moved to reststation C by engagement with the leading edge 33 of the plate .36.Articles from the outer and lower belt conveyer 3 are moved in twosuccessive steps by the pusher member 43 having sets of fingers 44 and46 protruding upwardly through the slots 45 in the table support 37. Thepusher member 40 is suspended over the table and will engage thecombined groups of articles at station C for transfer to the buckets 8of the conveyer 1.

Fig. 1 shows the structure supporting the pusher members 35, 4t and 42.This structure comprises generally a pair of members 48 and 49 extendingtransversely over the conveyers and rigidly connected to alongitudinally extending member 50. The pusher member 40 is suspended ona. pair of brackets 51 and 52 and is thereby rigidly connected to thetransverse members 48 and 49. Each of the pusher members 35 associatedwith the belt conveyer 2. are supported by brackets 53 which are rigidlysupported tothe member 50 by three transversely extending members 54.The pusher members 42 are suspended on a set of brackets 55 and arerigidly connected to the longitudinal member 50 by short transverselyextending members 56. A pair of cam rollers 57 is slidably positionedwithin a pair of guideways 58 for supporting the transversely extendingmembers 48 and 49. Each of the guideways 58 are mounted to movevertically on vertically extending bars 59.

As may be seen in Fig. 8, the drive shaft 25 is drivingly coupled foroperation of the various elements of the machine heretofore described bymeans of a plurality of cams mounted thereon, one such cam 68 beingshown with a grooved eccentric cam-way 61. A cam roller 62 is engagedwith the cam 60 and is mounted on the arm of a bell crank 63 pivotalabout a point 64. An upwardly extending arm of the bell crank 63 ispivotally connected to the transverse arm 48. Thus, as the cam 60 isrotated on the drive shaft 25, the bell crank 63 is caused to oscillateand the arm 48 moves with a reciprocatory motion carrying with it all ofthe suspended pusher members 35, 40 and 42. A further cam, not shown, isrotated by the drive shaft 25 which causes reciprocatory motion of abell crank arm 65 and a link 66 pivotally connected thereto. Anotherbell crank 67, 68 is rocked about a shaft 69 by the reciprocation of thelink 66. The vertical bar 59 is pivotally connected to the bell crank67, 68 and thus the guideway 58 moves vertically. Since the verticalmotion of the guideway 58 and the transverse motion of the member 48 areboth controlled by the rotation of the same drive shaft 25, thesemotions will be synchronized with each other and with the movements ofthe buckets on the conveyer 1. Each of the suspended pusher members 35,40 and 42 will therefore descend for engagement with the articles at thecommencement of a transfer operation and will raise above the articlesfor return movement upon completion of the transfer operation.

Fig. 8 shows the mounting arrangement for the pusher member 43 havingthe upstanding fingers 44 and 46. The member 43 is pivotally mounted at71 to a bracket 72 which is, in turn, slidably mounted on a fixedsupport member 73. The pusher member 43 is driven by cams, not shown,mounted on and rotatable with the drive shaft 25 and having a linkagewhich may comprise bell cranks operated by the cams and push-pull linksconnected to the bell crank and, in turn, connecting with further bellcranks pivotally mounted on shaft 69. The drive means thus associatedwith the pusher member 43 is essentially the same as the drive means forthe suspended pusher members 35, 48 and 42. One arm 74 associated with abell crank on the shaft 69 is operatively connected to the slidebrackets 72 by a link 75 such that the bracket 72 will reciprocatetransversely with the conveyer on its slide mounting as the drive shaft25 turns and as the bell crank 74 rocks. Another bell crank having anarm 76 moves the pusher member 43 upwardly and downwardly bymeans of aconnecting link 77. Thus, by means of a pair of hell cranks 74 and 76drivingly coupled to a common drive shaft, the pusher member 43 iscaused to move. transversely across the conveyer and vertically forengagement and disengagement with the articles, both such motions beingsynchronized with each other, with the movements of the suspendedpushers 35, 40 and 42, and with the movements of the buckets 8 on theconveyer 1.

Operation of the bucket synchronized guide rails A plurality ofreciprocating guide rails 78 and 79 are disposed horizontally on thesupport table 37, Fig. 4.

8 The guide rails are each pivoted on vertical shafts 80, 80' and extendtherefrom toward the conveyer 1 where the oscillating ends are disposedin close proximity with the buckets 8, Fig. 7. The pivot shafts 80, 80'extend below the table support 37 and further arms 81 are fixed to pivotthereon. On each side of the conveyer 1, a single connecting bar 81 ispivotally attached to each of the arms 81, Fig. 7. The connecting bars81 cause all of the arms 81 and all of the guide rails 78, 79 tooscillate in unison; and since the connecting bars 81' are below tablesupport 37, there will be no interference with the movement of articleson the table 37.

The conveyer 1 moves continuously and as each successive bucket 8 movespast one of the loading stations I, II and III, the ends of the guiderails 78 and 79 move in alinement with the sides of the buckets. Thespace between each adjacent pair of guide rails forms the rest station Cfor the combined groups of articles 4 and is moved in synchronism withthe buckets 8 of the conveyer 1. As the pusher member 40 moves thearticles from the station C on the table support 37 onto' each of thebuckets 8, the oscillating guide rails 78 and 79 follow the movement ofthe bucket and guide the group of articles thereto.

The oscillating guide members are drivingly coupled to the drive shaft25 with a linkage including a cam, not shown, a bell crank engaged withthe cam, and having an arm 82 pivotally connected to a pushpull link 83,Pig. 8. An arm 84 pivotally connected to the link 83 rocks the shaft 86which constitutes a pivotal point of one of the first guide rails 78.Since the guide rails 78, 79 are drivingly coupled to the main driveshaft 25, they oscillate in synchronism with movements of the pushermembers and the conveyer buckets 8.

thereof The conveyor 1 includes a chain 85 to which are attached thebuckets 8, as shown by Fig. 3. Each bucket 8 includes a body member 86and a bottom support member 87 which is adapted to move verticallywithin the body member 86, as may be seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The bodymember 36 includes a pair of spaced apart sides 83 which are formedintegrally with a horizontal lower portion 89. A downwardly extendingpart contains a guideway 90 into which is positioned a vertical slidebar 91 of the bottom support member 87. The bottom support member 87includes a flat horizontal surface 92 and the vertically extending slidebar 91 adapted to fit in the guideway 90 of the body member 86. A camengaging part or roller 93' is attached to the slide bar 91 as a meansfor raising and lowering the bottom support member 87 within the bodymember 86.

Fig. 10 illustrates the manner in which the buckets 8 move along theconveyer 1 and the manner in which the bottom support member 87 lowersprogressively as the buckets pass the successive loading points I, H andIII. As the conveyer chain 85 moves around an end sprocket 94, thebucket 8 moves to the top of the conveyer and the cam roller 93 enters acam-way 95. The cam-way 95 constitutes a stationary cam extendinglongitudinally in spaced relation with the conveyer 1 such that theelevation of the supporting surface 92 of the bottom support member isdetermined by the cam and cam roller 93 as the bucket 8 moves along theconveyer. As each bucket passes the loading point I, the bottom supportsurface is in a raised position and a first layer of articles 4 areloaded into the bucket. As the bucket then passes to the loading point11, the cam-way 95 slopes downwardly causing the bottom support member87 and the first layer of articles 4- to lower correspondingly, thus.providing space for a second layer of articles 4 to be loaded on top ofthe first layer. The cam-way 95 causes the bottom support member 87 tolower to a third level as the bucket passes the loading point 111 wherea third and last layer of articles are placed thereon. The loaded bucketthence continues to move to the right, as shown in Fig. 10, wheresubsequent mechanisms may transfer the articles 4 from the bucket 8 intoa cardboard carton.

As may be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the vertical sides 88 of each bucket 3contain a downwardly extending slot 96 centrally positioned. Thestationary divider plate 9 positioned over the conveyer extendsdownwardly into the central slot 96 of the opposed spaced walls of thebucket 8. As has been previously described in connection with thegeneral arrangement of the conveyers, the purpose of the divider plate 9is to provide an abutting surface against which the articles 4 may bemoved from each side of the bucket. As may be seen in Fig. 10, thedivider plate 9 extends downwardly to a limited extent at the loadingpoint I. Since the articles are transferred to the bucket at a levelnear the top of the divider plate 9, there is no need for this plate toextend downwardly at the loading point I where the first layer ofarticles are-moved thereon; and clearance is thus provided between thesupporting surface 92 of the bottom support member'87 during the timethat said bottom support member is in the raised position. At loadingstation II, the bottom support member drops to a lowered elevation andthe stationary dividing plate 9 likewise extends further into thebucket. As the bucket 8 passes to the loading point III,

the bottom support member 87 again descends to a still lower elevation,but since the articles are transferred to the bucket at the top layerthereof, it is unnecessary that the dividing plate 9 be further extendeddownwardlythe lower layer of articles having arrived at a stablepositioning wherein a dividing plate is no longer necessary. Thedividing plate 9 terminates at 97 at which point the bucket loadingoperation is completed.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description and withparticular reference to Fig. 19, that the articles arrive at thetransfer mechanism of this invention on four belt conveyers 2' and 3arranged in pairs on both sides of the bucket conveyer 1. The articlesmay be rolls of candy or medicinal tables and may be arriving on theconveyer in single rolls or may be in packs of three, and the functionof the transfer mechanism may be identical regardless of which manner ofwrapping is used. It will be noted that the articles originallypositioned on the outer conveyer belts 3 will be transferred topositions in the rear or trailing quadrants of each bucket 8 (the leftside of the bucket as viewed in Fig. 19), while the articles from theinner conveyer belts 2 will be positioned in the leading quadrants ofthe buckets (the right side as viewed in Fig. 19). Because of thearrangement of the conveyers, the articles to be packaged in a singlecarton may be any of several combinations of three packs and singles.The combinations may be set up by feeding the articles in three packs onone or more particular belt conveyers and feeding other articles singlyon the remaining belt conveyers. The three packs and singles will thenoccupy particular quadrants in the buckets 8 of the conveyer andultimately will occupy particular positions as the articles aretransferred from the buckets into cardboard cartons by subsequentmechanisms. Since the articles may be for retail sale to the public, itis advantageous to provide various arrangements of single articles andthree packs in a display carton.

A further adaptation of this invention may be the packaging of rolls ofcandy of various flavors. If it were desired to package rolls of candyin cartons for retail sale such that differentflavors of candy wouldappear in different parts of the cardboard display carton, the rolls ofcandy of each different flavor may be fed to the bucket loadingmechanism of this invention along different belt conveyers 2 and 3. Ifeach belt conveyer transported candy of each of four different flavors,the buckets 8 would be loaded with a different flavored candy in eachquadrant thereof, and the cardboard carton would likewise be loaded withcandy of different flavors in each quadrant. The machine of thisinvention is therefore capable of packaging rolls of candy having variedflavors in an orderly arrangement in a display carton.

Changes may be madein the form, construction and arrangement of theparts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificingany of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all suchchanges as fall fairly within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. In a packaging machine, a bucket conveyer for carrying articles, saidconveyer comprising a line 'of movable buckets, a stationary camextending longitudinally in spaced relation with the line of buckets,and a stationary divider plate extending longitudinally in spacedrelation with the line of buckets, each of said buckets including a bodymember and a bottom member, said body member having a pair of verticalwalls in opposed spaced relation with each other and extending acrossthe bucket transversely to the line of buckets and the movement thereof,each of said vertical walls having a downwardly extending slotpositioned centrally with the buckets, said stationary divider beingpositioned over the line of buckets and extending downwardly into theslot in the vertical walls to provide an abutting surface for articlesreceived from both sides of having a fiat article the conveyer, saidbottom member supporting surface mounted to move vertically between thevertical walls of the body member,-

said bottom member having a part for engaging the cam whereby the bottommember will be lowered in successive steps as the bucket moves andsuccessive layers of articles may be received in the bucket.

2. In a packaging machine having a continuously movable conveyer withbuckets thereon, apparatus for loading the buckets with articles, saidapparatus comprising a stationary table positioned closely adjacent toand at the same elevation as the conveyer, a plurality of movable guiderails on the table, each guide rail having one end pivotally mounted andhaving the other end extending into close spaced relation with theconveyer buckets, a means drivingly associated with the guide rails forpivotally reciprocating the guide rails in synchronism with the movementof the conveyer buckets such that each adjacent pair of guide railsfollows the movement of a bucket during one stroke of each reciprocationthereof, and an article pushing means for pushing articles between thepair of adjacent guide rails and onto the bucket.

3. In a packaging machine having a continuously movable conveyer withbuckets thereon, apparatus for loading the buckets with articles in aplurality of layers, said apparatus comprising a stationary supportpositioned closely adjacent to the conveyer, a plurality of movableguide rails, each guide rail having one end pivotally mounted on thestationary support and having the other end extending into close spacedrelation with the conveyer buckets, a means drivingly associated withthe guide rails for pivotally reciprocating the guide rails insynchronism with the movement of the conveyer buckets, an articlepushing means extending longitudinally'with the conveyer andtransversely of the guide rails, and a means for moving the articlepushing means in synchronism with the movement of the conveyer and withthe reciprocation of the guide rails, said article pushing means beingoperable to push a group of articles between each adjacent pair of guiderails onto the corresponding aligned bucket whereby the bucket is loadedwith a layer of articles as the bucket moves past each pair of adjacentguide rails.

4. In a packaging machine having a continuously movable conveyer,apparatus for loading the conveyer with articles arranged in layers,said apparatus comprising a plurality of buckets mounted on the conveyerand movable therewith, each of said buckets having a body and a bottomsupport mounted to move vertically with respect to the body, a meansoperatively associated with the conveyer for lowering the bottom supportas the buckets move on the conveyer, a stationary table positioned inclose spaced relation to the conveyer, a plurality of guide rails on thetable-each having a movable end extending into close spaced relation tothe conveyer, a means drivingly coupled to the guide rails toreciprocate the ends thereof in synchronism with the movement of thebuckets on the conveyer, and pusher means operatively associated withthe table and with the guide rails for pushing articles between eachadjacent pair of guide rails and into the buckets whereby successivelayers of articles are loaded into each bucket as the bucket passessuccessive spaces defined by each adjacent pair of guide rails and asthe bottom support of the bucket lowers.

In a packaging machine having a continuously movableconveyer, apparatusfor loading the conveyer with articles arranged in layers, saidapparatus comprising a plurality of buckets mounted on the conveyer andmovable therewith, each of said buckets having a body and a. bottomsupport mounted to move vertically within the body and having a camengaging part thereon, a stationary cam-extending in spaced relationwith the conveyer for engaging the cam engaging part and for therebylowering thebottom support as the bucket movesalong the conveyer, a pairof stationary tables positioned in close spaced relation-to theconveyer, one of said tables being on each side of the conveyer, aplurality of guide rails on. each table, each guide rail being pivotallymounted at one end and having the other end extending into close spacedrelation with the conveyer, a means drivingly coupled to the guide railsfor reciprocating the rails about the pivotal mounting thereof, insynchronism with the movement of the buckets on the conveyer, astationary dividing rail positioned over the conveyer and extendingintothe buckets tostop articles received from both sides thereof, andpusher means operatively associated with the tables and with the guiderails for pushing articles between adjacent pairs of guide rails as theguide rails movesynchronously with the buckets such thatsuccessive'layers ofthe articles will be received on each bucket fromboth sides thereof as the bucket passes successive spaces betweenadjacent guide rails.

6. In a packaging machine, apparatus for receiving articles from acontinuously moving belt conveyer and for transferring groups ofpredetermined numbers of the articlestransversely from the beltconveyer, said apparatus comprising a stop member positioned in spacedrelation to the belt conveyer for engaging and holding a first articlewhile further articles bunch together on the moving belt conveyer behindthe first article, a plurality of divider members positioned-over theconveyer, means drivingly coupled to each of the divider members forcausing the divider members to bunched articles at predetermined spacedintervals a means-drivingly coupled to the stop member for retractingthe stop member as the divider members descend and for thereby looseningthe bunched articles and permitting the divider members to interposebetween and to separate the articles, and a plurality of pusher membersmounted to move transversely across the belt conveyer, each of saidpusher members being operable to engage and push a predeterminednumberof articles in a group from the belt conveyer.

7. In a packaging machine, apparatus for receiving articles from acontinuously moving belt conveyer and for transferring groups ofpredetermined numbers of the articles transversely from the beltconveyer, saidapparatus comprising a stop member positioned in spacedrelation to the belt conveyer for engaging and holding a first articlewhile further articles bunch together on the moving belt conveyer behindthe first article, a plurality of divider members positioned over theconveyer, means drivingly coupled tothe divider members to lower thedivider members such that the divider member most remote fromthe'stopmember descends between and separatesthe bunched articles andthence the remaining didescend between and separate the vider membersdescend and separate articles in a sequence progressing ultimately tothe divider member closest to the stop member, a means drivingly coupledto the stop member for retracting the stop member progressively as thedivider members descend whereby the bunched articles are loosened topermit separation by the divider members, and pusher means mounted tomove transversely across the belt conveyer in spaced relation with thedivider members, said pusher means being operative to push'a selectednumber of articles from positions adjacent to each divider member to arest station apart from the-conveyer.

In a packaging machine having a centrally positioned conveyer withbuckets mounted thereon, apparatus for loading the conveyerwith articlesarranged in four quadrants of each bucket, said apparatus comprising twobelt conveyers disposed on each side of the bucket conveyer, a tablesupport positioned on each side of the bucket conveyer and between thebelt conveyers and the bucket conveyer, a first transfer means formoving articles from a first belt conveyer on each side of the bucketconveyer to a rest station on the table support, a second transfer meansfor moving articles from the second belt conveyer on each side of thebucket conveyer to another rest station on the table support, saidsecond rest station being closely adjacent to the first rest station oneach side of the bucket conveyer, and a third transfer means on eachside of the bucket conveyer for moving articles from both rest stationsinto each bucket of the conveyer wherein each of the four quadrants ofthe bucket receives articles from respective stations on respectivesides of the conveyer.

9. In a packaging machine having a centrally positioned bucket conveyer,apparatus for loading the conveyer with articles arranged in fourquadrants in each bucket moving along the conveyer, said apparatuscomprising a table support positioned on each side of the bucketconveyer for providing rest stations for articles being moved thereto,four belt conveyers arranged in pairs on each side of the bucketconveyer, each pair of belt conveyers including an outer conveyer and aninner conveyer positioned more centrally and closer to the bucketconveyer than the outer conveyer, a transfer means operativelyassociated with each of the belt conveyers for moving a predeterminednumber of articles from each belt conveyer to rest stations on the tablesupport, the articles from the outer conveyer being positioned to restclosely adjacent to the articles from the inner conveyer atcorresponding rest stations on each side of the bucket conveyer, andanother transfer means on each side of the bucket conveyer for movingthe articles from the rest stations into the conveyer buckets whereinarticles from each belt conveyer will be received in a respectivequadrant of each bucket.

10. in a packaging machine having a centrally positioned bucketconveyer, apparatus for loading the conveyer with articles arranged infour quadrants in each bucketmoving along the conveyer, said apparatuscomprising a table support positioned on each side of the bucketconveyer for providing rest stations for articles being moved thereto,four belt conveyers arranged in pairs on each side of the bucketconveyer, each pair of belt conveyers including an outer conveyer and aninner conveyer positioned more centrally and closer to the bucketconveyer than the outer conveyer, a transfer means operativelyassociated with each of the belt conveyers for moving a predeterminednumber of articles on the table support, the articles from the outerconveyer being positioned to rest closely adjacent to the articles fromthe inner conveyer at corresponding rest stations on each side of thebucket conveyer, a stationary divider positioned'longitudinally with andabove the bucket conveyer, said stationary divider extending downwardlyinto the buckets on the conveyer and being operable to provide anabutting gce against which articles may be pushed 13 as the buckets areloaded from both sides thereof, and another transfer means on each sideof the bucket conveyer for moving the articles from the rest stationsinto the conveyer buckets wherein articles from each belt conveyer willbe received in a respective quadrant of each bucket.

11. In a packaging machine having a centrally positioned bucketconveyer, apparatus for loading the conveyer with articles in apredetermined configuration Wherein the articles are carried in aplurality of layers and wherein each layer contains four quadrants witha selected number of articles in each quadrant, said apparatuscomprising a plurality of buckets mounted on the conveyer and movabletherewith, each bucket including a bottom support member mounted to movevertically with respect to the conveyer, a stationary cam positioned inspaced relation with the conveyer for lowering the bottom support memberas the bucekt moves on the conveyer, a table support positioned on eachside of the bucket conveyer for providing rest stations for articlesbeing loaded thereon and for providing a plurality of loading pointsalong the bucket conveyer, four belt conveyers arranged in pairs on eachside of the bucket conveyer, each pair of belt conveyers including anouter conveyer and an inner conveyer positioned more centrally andcloser to the bucket conveyer than is the outer conveyer, a plurality oftransfer means operatively associated with each belt conveyer for movinggroups of a selected number of articles from each belt conveyer to theplurality of rest stations on the table support and positioned at theplurality of loading points on each side of the bucket conveyer, andanother plurality of bucket loading transfer means each associated witha loading point on each side of the conveyer for moving articles incombined groups from the outer and inner belt conveyers into buckets onthe centrally positioned bucket conveyer, said stationary cam beingoperable to lower the bottom support member of each bucket as the bucketmoves along the conveyer past the successive loading points whereinsuccessive layers of articles are loaded into the bucket, and whereineach layer includes the selected number of articles from each beltconveyer arranged in four quadrants of the bucket.

12. In a packaging machine having a centrally positioned bucketconveyer, apparatus for loading the conveyer with articles in apredetermined configuration wherein the articles are carried in threelayers and wherein each layer contains four quadrants with a selectednumber of articles in each quadrant, said apparatus comprising aplurality of buckets mounted on the conveyor and movable therewith, eachbucket including a body member and a bottom support member mounted tomove vertically within the body member, a stationary cam positioned inspaced relation with the conveyer for determining the verticalpositioning of the bottom support member as the bucket moves on theconveyer, a table support positioned on each side of the bucket conveyerfor providing rest stations for articles being loaded thereon at threeloading points coadjacent to the bucket conveyer, four belt conveyersarranged in pairs on each side of the bucket conveyer, each pair of beltconveyers including an outer conveyer and an inner conveyer positionedmore centrally with the packaging machine and closer to the bucketconveyer than is the outer conveyer, and three transfer mechanismsoperatively associated with each belt conveyer for moving groups of aselected num- 6 her of articles from each belt conveyer to the reststations at the three loading points on the table support on each sideof the bucket conveyer, and three bucket loading transfer mechanismseach associated with aloading point on each side of the conveyer formoving articles in combined groups from the outer and inner beltconveyers into buckets on the centrally positioned bucket conveyer, saidstationary cam being operable to lower the bottom support member of eachbucket as the bucket moves along the conveyer past the three successiveloading points wherein three successive layers of articles are loadedinto the conveyer and wherein each layer includes the selected number ofarticles from each belt conveyer and positioned in each of the fourquadrants of the bucket.

13. In a packaging machine having a centrally positioned conveyer,apparatus for loading the conveyer with articles in a predeterminedconfiguration, wherein the articles are carried in a plurality of layersand wherein each layer contains four quadrants with a selected number ofarticles in each quadrant, said apparatus comprising a plurality ofbuckets mounted on the conveyer and movable' therewith, each bucketincluding a body member and a bottom support member mounted to movevertically within the body member, a stationary cam positioned in spacedrelation with the conveyer for engaging and moving the bottom supportmember as the bucket moves along the conveyer, a table supportpositioned on each side of the bucket conveyer for providing articlerest stations at a plurality of loading points along the bucketconveyer, four belt conveyers arranged in pairs on each side of thebucket conveyer, each pair of belt conveyers including an outer conveyerand an inner conveyer positioned more centrally with respect to thepackaging machine than is the outer conveyer, said inner conveyers beingat a level higher than the outer conveyers and higher than the supporttable, a plurality of transfer means operatively associated with eachinner belt conveyer for moving articles transversely from the inner beltconveyer for dropping the articles to the level of the support table andfor moving the articles to rest stations at each loading point on thesupport table, a plurality of transfer means associated with each outerbelt conveyer for moving articles on the support table beneath the innerbelt conveyer and to rest positions at the loading points on the supporttable, a plurality of bucket loading transfer means each associated witha loading point on each side of the conveyer for mov' g articles incombined groups from the inner and the outer belt conveyers into bucketson the centrally positioned bucket conveyer, said stationary cam beingoperable to lower the bottom support member of each bucket as the bucketmoves along the conveyer past successive loading points whereinsuccessive layers of articles are loaded into the bucket, each layer ofarticles including a quadrant of the selected number of articles fromeach of the belt conveyers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,576,366 Smith Nov. 27, 1951 2,683,557 Jenney July 13, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS 76,638 Sweden Feb,. 28, 1933 733,654 Great Britain July 13, 1955

